Machine for making filter elements



y 1951 c J. ROHLAND 2,553,834

MACHINE FOR MAKING FILTER ELEMENTS Filed Aug. 28, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

May 22, 1951 c. J. ROHLAND' MACHINE FOR MAKING FILTER ELEMENTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 28, 1946 ATTORNEYS.

May 22, 1951 c. J. ROHLAND 2,553,834

- MACHINE FOR MAKING FILTER ELEMENTS Filed Aug. 28, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. Carr 1/? Okla/Id ATTORNEYS- May 22, 1951 c. J. ROHLAN'D momma FOR MAKING FILTER ELEMENTS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 28, 1946 mum I I III III In Ih'l m [HIP IN V EN TOR. J Wr/JBOfi/a/QJ A TTORNEYS.

y 1951 c. J.- ROHLAND 2,553,834

MACHINE FOR MAKING FILTER ELEMENTS ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 22, 1951 MACHINE FOR MAKING FILTER ELEMENTS Curt J. Rohland, Seekonk, Mass., assignor to Fram Corporation, a corporation of Rhode Island Application August 28, 1946, Serial No. 693,597

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a machine for making filter elements.

Filter elements which consist of a stack of sheet members such as paper members may be cut from a sheet of paper and assembled in stack formation. The assembly depends to a large extent upon the shape and formation of each of the sheet members and in some cases different members are of different formation. In the element which is made by the machine of this present invention the sheet paper members are of identical formation which requires in assembly that some relative movement occur between the adjacent members in order that the stack may be properly formed.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a machine which will draw from a coil supply of paper web the required web for the formation of each member and will out from the web the member required and then stack these members in the proper relation all automatically.

Another object of this invention is to provide a feed for the paper web which will accommodate different thicknesses of paper.

Another object of this invention is to provide each of the stations where an operation occurs as an individual unit so that such unit may be taken from the frame of the machine and another unit substituted in case repairs are necessary on any one part. Thus, the machine may continue to operate with a small change while repairs are being made.

Another object of this invention is to present the web in a loose formation to the final feeding means so that the Web being pulled from the supply package will not affect the feed.

With these and other object in View, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of-the machine showing the various operating units in position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the feed portion of the machine where the feeding, cutting, and assembling operations occur;

Fig. 3 is an elevation looking at the forward side of the feeding unit and showing in section the framework to which the feedin unit is attached; H I

Fig. 4 is-a side view of the structure shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken on substantially line 5-5 of Fig. 3, looking at the upper roll of'the feed unit;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on substantially line 66 of Fig. 4, showing the lower roll of the feed unit;

Fig. '7 is a vertical sectional. view showing the relationship of the upper feed roll and the roll next below it;

Fig. 8 is a plan view showing the assembly carrier unit of the machine;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing the structure in Fig. 8 in section;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on a larger scale i1- lustrating the cam for rotating each of the individual spindles on the carrier and taken on substantially line IE-l0 of Fig. 8 with the shaft broken away;

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the cam slot unrolled as shown in Fig. 10.

In proceeding with this invention, I provide a framework upon which the various units forming the different stations are positioned. The

supply package or roll of web material from I which the members are cut is shown at A in Fig.

l. The feeding unit is the next station of the machine and is illustrated at B in Fig. l. The dies for cutting from the sheet stock the filter members to be assembled is the next station and designated C in Fig. 1 while the assembly unit is the last station and is designated D in Fig. 1. These units are each separate and may be bolted upon the' framework or taken therefrom as desired. They are, however, all driven in unison from a common power source which is a motor designated E in Fig. 1 which drives a fiy wheel on a power shaft from which the power is supplied by a belt or chain means to all of the various units.

With reference to the drawings in greater detail, a skeleton framework is designated generally l6 and consists of three pairs of'upright standards ll, i2, and 13 which are tied together by horizontal stringers l4 and I5 and suitably joined together by cross stringers which are not shown in the drawings. An axle or journal 16 is supported in bearings ll resting and fastened to the stringers !4. On the axle 16 there is rotatably mounted the spirally wound web of paper material l8. In order that this paper may be more easily elevated into position a ramp !9 extends from a point adjacent the bearing H and is supported by legs 2 A single ply of paper web 2! is drawn from the package I8 through a pair of feed rolls positioned in the lower part in the unit B and then is looped down about the supply package l8 as shown at 22 and thence extends upwardly as at 23 over a guide 24 which consists of a rod between the two upright sunports H and thence the web at the portion 25 extends again to the feeding unit to be advanced by an upper pair of feed rolls to the action of the dies.

This feeding unit is illustrated in greater detail in Figs. 3-7 inclusive and consists of a pair of spaced plates 26 and 21 between which are mounted the upper and a lower pair of feed rolls. An axle 30 is journaled in bearings 28 and 29 in the plates 26, 21 and rotatably supports the feed roll 3| of the lower pair of feed rolls. A pair of arms 6 32 are pivotally supported on pins 3-3 and carry bearings mounting the shaft 3d upon which the feed roll 35 is rotatably supported. Springs 35 press upon the outer end of the arms 32 and act against abutments 37 carried by the plates 26 and 2! so as to swing the arms 32 and cause the roll 35 to move toward the roll 3 I.

t the upper portion of the plates 25, 27 bearings 38 are provided. In these bearings is journaled an axle 39 which rotatably supports the roll 40. At a point above this roll 48 there is a pair of arms 4| which are pivotally mounted at 5-2 and carry bearings in which is journaled an axle 46 which rotatably mounts the feed roll 4'! of the upper pair of feed rolls. These arms AI are swung about their pivots by springs it which abut against each of the arms ti and abutments 38. The springs tend to swing the arms about pivots 42 so that the roll ll will move toward the roll 50.

At a point fixed in the framework of the machine on the horizontal stringer it there is mounted a bearing 50 (Fig. 1) for a shaft 5i on which is mounted a gear 53 (Fig. l) which serves to drive the feeding unit. The gear 53 meshes with a gear 54 on the shaft 36 which gear as in turn drives a gear 55 on the shaft 39 of the roll 53 and in turn drives gear 56 on the shaft it of the roll al The other end of the shaft 35 which is driven by the gear 5 5 is provided with a gear 5'! (Fig. 3) which drives the gear 58 on the shaft 34 upon which the roll 35 is mounted.

The rolls 3I, 35 are continuous cylindrical surfaces and engage the web of paper 22 as shown in Fig. 3 between them to constantly feed this paper and draw it from the supply package i8. The paper then is looped about the package as previously described and enters between the rolls 40 and 41. The roll 40 is a continuous cylindrical surface while the roll 41 (see Fig. 7 is a mutilated cylindrical surface having a high portion 59 and a low portion 69 which will not grip the paper, there being barriers at the outer surface as at GI This high portion is made up of several sections 62 (Fig. 5) Which may be adjusted so as to provide a greater or lesser extent of high surface portion 59 for gripping paper of different thicknesses.

The plates 26, 2! are tied together and held in spaced relation to each other by tie rods 63, 64

which have reduced end portions that extend H through the plates. The reduced end portions of the rods are threaded for receiving nuts 65, 65 which bind the plates between the nuts and the shoulders formed on the rods by the reduced end portions. The arms 32 are similarl tied together and held in spaced relation by means of the rods 6'! and nuts 68 (Fig. 6). Arms 4! are likewise tied together by means of rods 69 and nuts if! (Fig. 5). The feed unit is mounted on the bed plate II of the machine by angle iron pieces i2 (Fig. 2) which are fastened to the outer side of the plates such as by welding. The angle irons rest on the bed plate II about the edges of an opening I therein through which extends the lower portion of the feed unit. Bolts It may be employed for detachably securing the feed unit in position.

The unit C comprises a stationary die block 74 and a die block I5 which is movably mounted on guide pins I5. 011 these die blocks are mounted or otherwise provided the cutting elements (not shown) of the dies. The dies may be of any suitable form, that herein employed are of the progressive type wherein the cutting elements are chosen and arranged in a manner that the severing of the blank from the web is divided into several operations or steps. The blank to be cut remains fixed to the web while being advanced to the last step where the blank in the form of members shown generally at I? in Fig. 2 is severed entirely from the web at a point over the assembling mechanism and discharged from the die onto a suitable spindle on th assembling mechanism and is assisted in such movement by a blowing of compressed air thereon conducted through the tube I8 and controlled by valve I9. At each reciprocation of the die an arm 8!} opens the valve and permits compressed air from a suitable source of supply to be passed through the conduit '58.

The die block i5 is reciprocated on guide pins I6 by means of arms 3| suitably joined to the block I5 and eccentrically mounted on the main drive shaft 82.

One end of the drive shaft 82 carries a sprocket gear 83 over which passes a sprocket chain 84 that engages a sprocket gear 85 secured to the shaft iii to drive the same. At the otherend of the drive shaft 82 is mounted the fiy wheel 86 and a gear wheel 8'! from which other movable parts of the machine derive power.

In order to maintain the web properly aligned as it is advanced to the action of the dies, a spring pressed arm 99 is provided. The arm is pivoted at SI to the bed plate II and has a pin 92 at the free end thereof which depends therefrom into engagement with the edge 93 of the web. A pull spring 94 is secured to the arm in a manner so as to bias the arm toward the web to cause the pin 92 to maintain the opposite edge of the web against an abutment 95 which is provided by the turned edge of a plate 95. The web travels in the space between the plate 534 and bed plate Ii, the spacing between these plates is such as to provide a restricted passage for the web so as to aid in preventing the same from buckling when being moved toward the die.

Assembling mechanism The assembly mechanism, although shown to some extent in Figs. 1 and 2 is more fully shown in Figs. 8 to 11. A bed plate I Ill mounts a rotary carrier I II which is provided with gear teeth I I2 at its edge. This rotary carrier is provided with a central boss II3 having an opening extending therethrough for receiving a bearing bushing I Hi. A vertically disposed stud H5 extends upwardly from the bed plate His and is fixed thereon against rotation. The stud extends through the bushing H4 to rotatively support the carrier in position. A collar H3 is received on the end of the stud H5 and by means of a set screw secures the collar to the stud which looks the carrier thereto. The teeth I12 of the carrier mesh with a gear IIS which is mounted upon a shaft II! in the bed plate IIQ and suitably supported in a sleeve H8 below it. At the lower end of this shaft HT is a beveled gear IE9 in mesh with another beveled gear I26 which is driven by shaft I2I through a friction clutch mechanism I22 and I23. The friction clutch is under influence of spring I24 and is continually tending to drive the beveled gears and the shaft Ill. The shaft IZI is mounted in bearings I25 and I26 and is driven by means of a sprocket chain I2? engaging the gear I 28 and drive gear 87 on the main drive shaft. A cam I29 is fixed upon the upper end of the shaft II 'I so as to rotate therewith and is engaged by the arm I31] of a. member I 35 which is pivoted at I32 and has another arm I33 serving as a handle. When the arm I 3'3 is rocked so as to release the cam I29, the carrier will rotate the distance of one revolution of the gear H6 so as to move the carrier through a portion of a revolution.

The ratio of the number of teeth in gear H6 and gear teeth H2 is such that the carrier will be moved one quarter of a revolution so as to position one of the four spindles, which in the instant case is mounted on this carrier at a loading location. The arc of movement, however, will depend upon the number of spindles which are utilized.

After the arm I 33' is swung to permit the starting movement of the cam, the arm I33 is then released and the arm I30 will again move under the bias of a torsion spring I32 back into a position to engage the cam and stop motion after one revolution has been made. This is a manual control which the operator must perform although it will be readily apparent that automatic mechanism might be provided for accomplishing this. The carrier III is provided with a plurality of rotary members I35 mounted in openings I36 in the carrier. These members consist of a flange I3'I upon which there is mounted a pin I38 and each member receives a spindle I39 which has a flange I40 provided with an opening IM to receive the pin I38. These members I35 below the carrier each have a gear I42 fixed thereto, which gears mesh with a center gear I43 which is mounted on the bearing I44 of the center stud II5. This center gear is also provided with a plurality of knobs I45 which are located angularly dependent upon the pattern of the member which is cut from the dies. Six are provided in the instant case as the lobes of the members out are at intervals of 60 degrees of rotation. These knobs I45 serve as a means for rotating the gear I43 and the gears I42 in mesh with it. In other words, to drive the center gear I43 I have provided a gear I46 on the shaft I2I and have meshing with it a gear M1 on the shaft I48 as shown in Fig. 8 while upon this shaft I48 (see Fig. there is mounted a cam member I49 having slots I50 and I5I therein. This cam member engages one of the knobs I45 as shown in Fig. 10 and will rotate this knob through an are dependent upon the channel formed in this cam member which will be through 60 degrees by reason of the timed relation between the rotation of the shaft I48 and the drive of the machine. In other words at each reciprocation of the die a rotation of 60 degrees on the spindle will be provided. The spindles will all rotate except such spindles as are raised so as to disengage the opening I4I and pin I38. Each of the spindles I39 has a portion I53 extending through the member I35 with a rounded end as at I54. This rounded end may ride upon a track I55 carried by the bed plate II 0 so as to raise the spindle from looking engagement with the member I 35 to prevent rotation thereof. This raised track will occur from the point immediately after loading to a point at the first stop after loading so as to permit the operator to easily remove either the spindle and replace it with another spindle or permit the stacked members to be lifted from the spindle for subsequent operations to hold them in assembled relation.

The operation of the several parts of the machine has been given in connection with the detailed description thereof and a brief general description of the operation of the apparatus as a whole will sufi'ice in order to clearly understand its mode of operation. The paper web .6 is advanced by the feed unit to the action of the dies which severs the members 11 from the paper web in a progressive order. The last step in the operation of the dies to entirely sever the blank from the web is performed adjacent a spindle I39 which receives the blank as discharged from the dies with the aid of compressed air acting on the blank. In timed relation with the reciprocation of the die blocks the spindle which is being loaded is moved a partial rotation by the gear train I43, I42 operated through the action of cam I49, through knobs I45 so as to properly relate the members 11 to each other on the spindle.

In order to facilitate inserting the web between the pairsof feed rolls 3| 35 and 40, 41, means are provided for manually moving one of the rolls of each pair away from its companion roll. The means comprises similar members I56, I51, each formed with eccentric end portions I58, I59 respectively. The member I56 is mounted for rotary movement in the plates 26, 21 with the eccentric end portions I58 extending beyond the plates so as to overlay the upper edge of the arms 4| on the side of the pivot distal from roll 41. The portions I58 are normally spaced from the arms 4| sufiiciently so as to permit ample clearance for the required limited movement of the arms 4I under urge of springs 48 to assure contact of the feed rolls with the web.

The member I5! is similarly mounted but with the eccentric end portions I58 extending beneath the lower edge of the arms 32. Each member I56, I5! is provided with a handle I60, I6I for the manual rotation of the members so as to move the portions I58, I59 in a proper direction to engage and swing the arms 32, 4i about their pivots 33, 42 and move the respective roll carried by each pair of arms from its companion roll. Movement of the members I56, I51 in the opposite direction will return the feed rolls to web engaging relation.

I claim:

A machine for making a filter element formed of a stack of sheet members comprising a supporting frame, a plurality of stations for forming said members and a terminal assembly station for receiving and assembling the sheet members comprising a rotary carrier having a plurality of spindles each for the assembly of a stack of members and means to rotate said carrier through a part of a revolution to successively locate one of said spindles at a time in a position to receive a stack of members thereon and position other of said spindles in an inoperative position for discharge of the members stacked thereon and means to intermittently rotate each spindle with reference to the carrier through a part of a revolution when in position to receive said members.

CURT J. ROHLAND.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,466,034 Snyder Aug. 28, 1923 1,540,336 Huyett June 2, 1925 1,591,547 Paridon July 6, 1926 1,870,151 Swangren Aug. 2, 1932 1,983,471 Kramer Dec. 4, 1934 2,098,642 Cude Nov. 9, 1937 2,283,629 Heftler May 19, 1942 

